Knoxdale-Merivale: #CBCStreetTalk in Ward 9

From Sept. 22 to Oct. 23, CBC Ottawa will visit the 23 electoral wards in the city of Ottawa to get the inside track on the issues people are talking about on the eve of the upcoming municipal election.

The CBC Street Talk team visited Knoxdale-Merivale, on October 1,tohear directly from you, the voters, about issues that matter most to you in this election campaign.

• Ottawa Votes 2014: #cbcstreetTalk

Knoxdale-Merivale is in the heart of the old city ofNepean a ward with mature suburbs and major throughways.

In the 2010 municipal election 44 per cent of eligible voters turned out to vote - in line with the city wide average.

The ward is bounded by Highway 416 on the west, the Rideau River on the east, Fallowfield Road on the southand extends as far north as Baseline Road.

A major issue in the area is transportation and transit. Merivale Road, the main artery through the ward, is jammed at rush hour. Not to mention,the bus riding experience can be nightmarish. It's not uncommon to see OC Transpo route 111 packed to the rafters with residents heading into downtown for work or students on their way to Carleton University.

There were some major cuts to bus service a few years and that has had a ripple effect. But driving and busing aren't the only transportation issues so is cycling. This is a ward where an experienced cyclist was struck and killed near Merivale and Hunt Club roads last year while riding his bike.

And then of course there's the issue of construction which has plagued commuters of all kinds.

In 2010 there were 10 candidates on the ballot for the ward. This time there is only two: Keith Egli, the incumbent, andCristian Lambiri, a systemsengineer at Blackberry.

CBC Ottawa asked all the candidates running for city council to record a 1-minute pitch and tell voters why they think they're the best candidate for their ward. The pitches below are from those who participated in this project.